Okay, That Was Better

After the sluggish run yesterday evening I was hoping to have a little more vim and vigor for the evening training run with Steve S. today. And what the hell is "vim" anyway?

We did 2 Greatwood loops again (7.1 miles total), our standard training run over there. I felt much more energetic and smooth today. My legs kept wanting to go faster but I held them back for the first loop. But even given that it was still a better-than-yesterday 26:28. A little short of midway through the second loop I let the dogs loose and took off. Steve S. was either going to have to throw a rope around me and hang on or do his best on his own. I clocked a 24:09, including running the last 1.6 miles at a 6:28 pace, and the last .8 mile at about 6:10.

Steve S. didn't stay right on my heels but kicked it up a notch also. We both cut well into what we did yesterday.

Total distance = 7.1 miles. Total time 50:38, 7:08 pace.

Lunchtime Speedwork

Did speedwork at lunch today on the .4 mile loop that I live on. Felt energetic and ready to attack it. Did 5 repeats, with a half loop recovery in between (around 2 minutes at a slow jog). Repeat times were:

2:12, 2:14, 2:07, 2:08, 2:07

Monday Evening Training Run

Went two loops in Greatwood with Steve S. at 5 PM Monday. No complaints about the temperature, although it was probably around 65 when we started, but 60 or so when we finished, with a cool breeze.

We both felt a little sluggish and never really found a smooth fluid pace. Each loop is 3.55 miles. We completed the first one in 27:19 and would have done the second in about the same time had we not kicked it the last quarter mile or so. The second loop was 26:58. We're doing it again today and should do better after knocking the rust off yesterday.

Total distance = 7.1 miles in 54:16 (7:29 pace).

Shades of 2004

In my previous life of a constantly struggling runner (prior to April 2005) I would seriously underperform at races. I'd train well, be rested, get a good nights sleep, warm up properly, stretch, hydrate, etc., only to go out and lay an egg on raceday. This was becoming common in 2004 and early 2005, until my doctor told me I was anemic and I got that corrected.

Now I'm wondering if that problem is coming back. I'm taking my usual iron supplement and eating plenty of red meat but Saturday morning at the Spectacle Spectacular it felt like some of the races I used to have. Everything felt great before the race started. It was a little warmer than I wanted, but we had a nice overcast morning - my favorite for running. I felt fine warming up, got stretched, did some sprints and we were off. First few miles went fine. I hit 3 miles in 18:24 but knew I wasn't going to be able to maintain it. Somewhere between mile 3 and mile 4 we turned on to a long straightaway that had us facing directly into a 10 to 20 mile an hour wind. Given that I knew I wasn't going to be able to maintain my pace anyway, the wind was an excuse to really throttle back. Truth is I just didn't have it in me to keep going at the 6:10 or so pace I'd been running. Heck, even the 6:50 pace that I dropped into was a struggle. Now you might say, "well, clearly you started too fast". Maybe, but my official PR is 38:26 (6:12 pace) and just last Saturday I did the 38:16 in training. So, trying to maintain a 6:10 pace was not an unrealistic goal. And when I go out too fast I just have to cut back a tiny bit in order to get my breath back. I don't completely die like I did Saturday morning, except in my previous life. My official finishing time was 40:28.

Not sure what the answer is. I know one thing that I try to do the week before a race that I didn't do last week, is get in a couple of morning runs. Since I'm not a morning runner by nature, this is a good primer for a morning race. But that shouldn't have made that big of a difference.

I went out Saturday night for an easy recovery run. 4.4 miles, no watch.

And no running yesterday, though I planned to do a long-run. I had a very busy weekend and just never was able to carve out the time for it. Plus I was sleepy all day Sunday because of my 2 and a 1/2 year old blond-haired alarm clock getting me up at the crack of dawn Sunday morning!

Speedwork - I'm Whipped

Did speedwork this evening at the Austin High track. I got there a little before one of my running buddies, Brian, so I did a few laps to warm up. Our other training partner, Steve, is out of town. I decided to kick one hard, despite a pretty strong wind. I posted a disappointing 1:14 lap around the track then Brian showed up. We traded off leading 400 repeats with a 400 recovery lap in between. I did the customary 8 fast 400s. The times were:

1:14, 1:20, 1:19, 1:18, 1:19, 1:20, 1:20, 1:20.

That fast one I did before Brian got there just had me whipped and playing catchup the rest of the workout, but I made it through. The lungs were seared though.

Next up is the 10K Saturday. 5 miles total today, plus the 3.4 last night for a paltry 8.4 for the week. But I'm planning a good long-run on Sunday.

Cancel The Ugh Oh

Okay, I'm not completely out of the woods yet, and I don't want to jinx myself, but I went out for 3.4 miles tonight and had no discomfort in my Achilles tendon. So, I think I'm gonna be okay. We'll see if it's tender tomorrow. Speedwork tomorrow afternoon.

I didn't time myself tonight but felt great and went fast - easily under a 6:30 pace.

Ugh Oh

Looks like I picked up an injury from the marathon. My right Achilles tendon ain't in it's happy place. I went out last night for 5.4 and it started hurting a little about halfway through. Not hurting bad enough to force me to stop, but I stopped anyway. I cut the return short and walked about half of it. I iced it when I got home, took a prescription anti-inflammatory and repeated that procedure twice today. It's actually a little tender to the touch, which concerns me. I am definitely still going to do the 10K this weekend, and will test it later this week to see if I can at least get in one workout. I've got my fingers crossed but am concerned that I may need a couple of weeks off after the race this weekend. Better two weeks now than two months later.

I Found It!

Remember ten days or so ago I was worried that I'd lost half a step? Well today I found it.

Went out around 4 PM for a run on a 10K route I have measured out in my subdivision. I have a 5.4 mile route, and live on a .4 mile loop, so to do the 10K I just add a loop at the beginning and end. The 5.4 is an out and back with a turnaround at exactly the mid-point, thus the 10K works the same. Makes for a great way to determine my pace halfway through, negative or positive split, etc. I wasn't sure what I was gonna have in me, but I felt pretty fired up (thank God my 2 and a 1/2 year old slept in this morning!). The conditions were excellent for running at around 4 PM when I went out (and the 2 and a 1/2 year old was taking his nap!). Very cloudy, a cool 55, and little wind.

I completed the loop at the beginning and was interested to see what my time would be for the initial .4 mile. Everything felt fine but I didn't think I was moving particularly fast. My watch read 2:31, which equates a 6:17 mile. I was very pleasantly surprised because I felt like I could maintain the pace I was running, and I usually start slow in training runs anyway. So I decided to see just what I had in the tank.

I kept the hammer down and hit the first mile after the .4 in 6:07 (8:38 for the loop and mile combined). Pretty sad that that's about what it took me to complete mile 26 of the marathon last Sunday! Now that was a smokin' mile, but again, I felt like I wouldn't get into too much trouble trying to hold on. I hit the 5K turnaround in 19:03. If I could turn that on the back half, (and on my training runs I usually turn negative splits) it could be a real leap for me, and potentially sub 38, something I've never come close too.

When I turned to go back, a moderate wind hit me and I knew I was going to have to work hard just to turn an even split. I kept hammering and with 1.4 to go I was at about 29:45. I turned the last mile before the loop in about 6:08. Total time for 5.8 miles = 35:53. There's no way I could do the final loop in 2:06 to get under 38. Heck, my best ever is 2:06, once, in speedwork, not after 5.8 miles at breakneck pace. But I knew that if I could at least do a 2:27 I'd have a 38:20 total time, which would be a PR for me and one second per mile faster than said PR. I turned the last loop with every engine firing and finished it in 2:22, for a total time of 38:16, a PR for me by 10 seconds. I know, I know, it's a training run, but this course is pretty accurate. In any event I'll get a shot at making it official next Saturday when I run the Spectacle Spectacular 10K down in Angleton.

I do seem to have some tightness in my right Achilles tendon though. Nothing major, but it bears watching.

Checking In

No running thus far this week and no weights yet either. Complete rest. The blisters on my right foot are much better and I no longer notice them, but the one on my left foot was severe and is still tender when I put my foot down. Don't get me wrong though, I'd love to run and will probably try tomorrow. Tuesday night it would have been awesome to run. Cold (around 40) and crisp, dry and still.

I can't wait to get back to training. I'd like to go to Austin for Freescale and rip a great half marathon. And I'll be doing the Spectacle Spectacular 10K on Jan. 28, where I'll hopefully PR.

Train Wreck At Mile 23

On March 12, 2005 I ran the Bayou City Classic 10K in 47:19. 8 months later, on November 19, 2005 I ran the Knight Flight For Humanity 10K in 38:26. I didn't drop 100 lbs or anything like that. I was diagnosed with anemia, and, after getting that corrected (via a supplement and a lot of steaks), I got faster - a lot faster.

I got to the point of telling people that I felt like some fast guy loaned me his body and that I hoped he never asked for it back. Today, at mile 23, I wish I could have had my old body back. My old body could have managed the final 3 miles at a 7:15 pace. The one I had today couldn't/wouldn't.

I was running beautifully through 20 miles. After 5 miles my average pace was 6:43. After 10 miles it was 6:44. After 15 miles it was 6:44. After 20 miles it was 6:44. Mile 21 was 6:55 - slowing a tiny bit but still acceptable. Mile 22 was 7:08 and signs of trouble were looming. The guy I had run the 6:44s with through 20 (Brian Belger) was way out in front of me so I was on my own. Mile 23 was 7:17. That was really the last point at which I had a shot of breaking 3 hours. Mile 24 was 7:42, mile 25 was 8:16, and mile 26 was a gawdawful 8:36. Hell, I had a couple of miles that were 2 minutes faster than that early on.

What happened? You tell me. Did I go too fast? I'm not so sure. My 30K time projected a marathon time of 2:58. Even the Rockets Run 5K, where I felt like I underperformed, projected a 2:58. I don't think going slower in those early miles would have made any difference in the last three. Of course, I could be wrong, but I don't think so. When I started slowing down it wasn't because I was winded, it wasn't because I was out of gas, and it wasn't because I was injured, though I have some blisters that would qualify for a medical textbook if they need a picture to describe "severe". I just simply could not make my body go at a 6:45 pace any longer. It was like a machine that needs oil - badly. It was bare metal grinding against bare metal. Every joint and muscle was creaky and used up.

I'm not sure how to get past this. My longest training run was 22.3 miles, and I guess you could say I had the same experience in the last 1.5 miles of that one. Do I need to push my longest long-run out to 24 maybe? I wish I knew the answer. There's no reason I shouldn't have been able to maintain that 6:44 pace. I would have turned a 2:56 and change.

As it was, I finished in 3:02:28. That may be a dream time for alot of people, and was unimaginable for me up until 3 or 4 months ago, but I can't help thinking what might have been. I'm still proud though. I did the best I could.

I wonder if I could swallow some WD-40 next time at mile 20....

Half-A$$ed Speedwork Tonight

Went for my normal Thursday speedwork this evening after work, wearing the new Ozweegos. One training partner is out of town and the other has already paid his dues this week so I went to the track by myself for 400 repeats. I decided in advance to take it easy but with the first fast 400 I could tell that I wasn't fully recovered from last night's tempo/race simulation run. I normally do 8x400, with a 400 warmup and a 400 after each repeat. But I decided to limit it to 6 and not go all out. My times were:

1:26, 1:25, 1:23, 1:21, 1:22, 1:21.

Total miles for the week - 10.85. Might do 3 easy miles in the morning.

New Shoes For The Marathon

Yeah, I know what you're saying. You're saying, "Lance, you gotta be nuts to wear new shoes in the marathon - that's as big a mistake as starting too fast, or using gels when you've never tried them in a training run". Let me explain.

I bought two pairs of my favorite shoes (training and racing) at the end of last summer - Addidas Ozweego. I thought they'd last me through the winter. I put 400 miles on one pair but had to rotate in the other pair because of some soggy days on the routes. The second pair is sitting at a little over 200 miles. I still run in the 400 mile pair, but obviously they're a little high on milage for a race. I wore the 200 mile pair for the Rockets Run 5K Sunday but their spring has sprung, if you know what I mean. The combination of soggy runs and too many cycles in the washer has aged them prematurely - like drinkin' and smokin'. I had asked for gift cards to Sports Authority for Christmas but got only one, from my sister. I didn't see any sales between Christmas and now, but went there on Tuesday anyway, hoping to get lucky. I found an Addidas model that I wasn't familiar with, the Supernova, which was on sale for $59.95. I bought a pair and wore them for that 4.4 I did last night. My wife asked me this morning how they were and my response summed it up - "they'll do". She said, "you don't want to wear a pair that'll 'do'." She was right. The shoes were adequate, but not like the Ozweegos.

So today at lunch I went to Famous Footwear, hoping against hope that they'd have Addidas Ozweegos on sale (we're on a budget with a new baby last October). With fingers crossed I entered the store and headed for the running shoes. Well whattaya know - Addidas Ozweegos on sale - $39.99. Found a pair of nines and plunked down my cash, with a smile on my face. The only drawback is that they come in two colors - royal blue or burnt orange. With me being an Aggie guess what color the only pair of 9s were? You got it. I'll probably break out in a rash!

Lost Half A Step Maybe?

Went for 4.4 miles tonight with the specific intention of going at breakneck speed. I wanted to see if I'm really a bit slower at the shorter stuff or if the Rockets Run 5K was just a fluke.

Left the house around 9PM. It was around 55 degrees with a moderate wind - approx. 10 mph from the south. I almost always have a negative split on this route, even when I start as fast as possible. I hit the first mile in around 6:19 but I need to go back one of these days and re-measure that first mile marker. I'm not sure exactly where it is anymore. I hit the turnaround in 13:47, a 6:16 pace. My PR for this route is 26:52 (October 14, 2005), a 6:06 pace, so I had some work to do on the back half. The wind was at my back more on the return than it was going out so that helped a bit. I clocked a 13:29 coming back (6:08 pace) for a total of 27:16 (6:12 pace).

So, yeah, I've lost a half step (at most) but am not too concerned. I'm close enough that a couple of weeks of focus on the shorter stuff would probably have me back to where I was, hopefully.

Speedwork tomorrow, then maybe 3 miles Friday morning and that's it until Sunday. Getting more concerned about the weather being a bit warm but at least I'll be finished before it gets much into the 60s.

Total miles this week - 7.6. I won't hit more than around 15 max this week (not counting Sunday), but all those miles will be focused on speed baby, speed.

Speedwork For Lunch

I had speedwork for lunch today. I did the block that I live on, which is .4 miles and is sort of an oval. It actually lends itself quite nicely to speedwork, except for a couple of fairly sharp turns, and one uneven spot in the sidewalk. I do a half loop warm-up, then 5 fast loops, with a half loop recovery in between each and after the fifth. It's not a lot of milage (3.2) but it sears the lungs and isn't for the faint of heart.

My fast loop times were: 2:12, 2:11, 2:10, 2:10, 2:11. Those are decent times for me, but about 3 seconds per loop off my peak of a couple of months ago. That's consistent with my Rockets Run 5K time being off from my PR of a couple of months ago. But I'm leaning away from thinking that I've lost fitness and leaning toward thinking that I've just not been specializing in the shorter, faster stuff. My confidence is back (for some reason) and I think I'll do well Sunday.

Rockets Run 5K

The Rockets Run 5K was this morning at 8 AM. The temperature at the start was about 60 - good enough for a 5K, but if it's the same next Sunday it's going to be a brutal day.

Before the race, my training partner and I did sprints and I really wasn't feeling it. That, coupled with the slower than expected pace in the two runs this past week where I really tried to push it, had me a little concerned. My performance merited that concern. I hit the first mile at 6:02 but felt like I had just put in a 5:40. I was winded and knew my best hope was just to hang on to that pace. The course ran away from the Toyota Center and under the Pierce Eelevated. The street was in poor condition for running. Very uneven throughout, from layer upon of layer of re-surfacing. Not good. I wasn't worried so much about turning an ankle as I felt that my speed was a bit impacted by it. Anyway, I hit the second mile in 6:04 so at least I was holding on. And I passed the only female who had been in front of me.

As we headed back toward the Toyota Center I was afraid that the course was going to be short again but after a couple of turns and a roundabout method of getting to the arena it worked out. I managed to reel in 5 runners in the last half of mile 3. I hit mile 3 in 5:56 but didn't feel like I had gone any faster. That mile marker was inside the shoot as you cleared the first decline into the arena. I clicked my watch at mile 3 for a total of 18:02. Then I took another 43 seconds to get to the finish line, which tells me that the final .1 was easily 12 to 15 seconds long. Finishing time was just a hair under 18:45. I finished 20th overall and was the 20th male.

The post race scenario was a joke. No fruit. This has to be the first of the 60 races I've done where they didn't have a stinking banana or orange slice. They had pizza, and hot dogs (very healthy, huh?), but they marked your number so you couldn't go back through the line. God forbid someone get an extra slice of pizza that was donated anyway. There was some cool-looking fruit drink but the line for that was around the building. They did have some sodas, which would have been nice, except the Diet Pepsi expired last July, and tasted like it. The awards ceremony was non-existent. I think they said something about recognizing the top 3 males and females, but I think that might have been supposed to take place tonight at the game. I remember the first year at least, they called out every person who finished in the top 50 so they could come up and accept their award. This race had ridiculous lines two years ago too, but I don't remember sodas that were 7 months out of code.

Not sure why my time was so far off my 5K PR (18:11). I haven't really been training for the shorter stuff but my overall fitness level should be at it's best ever. I had a cold a couple of weeks ago that moved to my chest and isn't completely gone, but that hasn't affected my training runs. I know I could use a new pair of shoes before the marathon - they didn't feel too springy today. Just not really sure why I was slow today. I could handle reaching a plateau, or even reaching my physical limit, but for all the training I've done, I shouldn't be going backward, especially when I need to go into next weekend confident!

Oh well. I still managed another sub 19 (only my third) and ran a nice even pace.

3 Miles This Morning

Went for 3 miles this morning before work. Started with an aggressive pace from the word go but managed only 6:19 at the first mile. Went faster the farther I got into the run (as usual for a morning run) but still managed only 18:27 for the 3 miles - a bit off of what I was expecting. I may try it again tomorrow morning. With the Rockets Run on Sunday I want to go in with confidence. I'd hate to think that my focus on longer milage in the past few weeks and no short-distance racing might have compromised my speed. We'll see Sunday I guess. I'd be thrilled just to equal my 18:11 5K PR. At least it's looking like we'll have good temps Sunday morning.

Went across town this evening to meet family for dinner to celebrate my mom's birthday. Ate mexican food so you know it wasn't exactly what the doctor ordered, then had cake. But I ate well the rest of the day so no big deal.

Gonna check e-mail then hit the hay. My 2 year old gets up with the roosters, thus so do I. Can't wait to watch the Disney channel all morning!

Speed Work Tonight

Did speedwork tonight at the junior high "track". Track is in parentheses because this barely qualifies. Once it gets dark you're taking a chance on turning an ankle in a couple of spots and it rolls in some spots but it'll do. We normally go to the high school track but there was soccer practice there tonight.

I met Steve S. at the track and our workout was the usual 8x400 meters with a 400 meter recovery interval after each, plus whatever amount we do to warm up. I got there before Steve and had 3 warmup laps completed before he jumped in for one. Then we did our repetitions, and took turns leading.

Now you'd think that a guy who was planning to do speedwork would remember to bring a freakin' watch but oh no, not me. Steve had an extra one that I used to record all the splits (except the first one), and upon the completion of the workout the battery proceeded to die a quick death. So all the splits are gone. But I saw a few (before it got dark) and would estimate that they were all between 77 and 80 seconds. Not bad considering the gale force winds facing us for half of each lap.

Brian K. didn't make it tonight because his wife is out of town and he's playing Mr. Mom. A jogging stroller probably doesn't lend itself too much to speed work!

Total miles this week a paltry 12.4 but that's by design - it's taper time. I'll do 3, or maybe a bit more, in the morning, then the Rockets Run 5K Sunday. No aches, no pains, no complaints (knock on wood).

Oh yeah, got my marathon confirmation card today in the mail. I'll be #1282 and I'm in the A corral (thank God). When I registered I think I put down that I planned to run a 3:10 but I honestly don't remember.

Inagural Post

Not much in the way of running to report today since I'm knee-deep in my taper for the marathon on Jan. 15. My plan this week and next is to continue training, but cut the milage and number of runs by half, at least. However, I will try to make several of those quality runs, not just junk milage.

Yesterday I did a quality run, but the pace was a little disappointing for me. It was around 79 degrees when I went out at lunch for 4.4 miles. I covered it in 27:37, for a 6:16 pace, but I was pushing from the first step to the last and should have been able to be around 6:05 or so. But like I said, it was very warm and seemed humid, and seems like almost all of my fastest runs are at night anyway.

This morning I did 3 miles with no watch. The pace was moderate and I'm sure it picked up as I went along, but what morning runner doesn't get faster as they wake up?

Tomorrow is speedwork at the track with my running buddy.